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Juniper Chocolate + Gaia Ritinitis Nobilis Retsina #WinePW


I almost always lean to the savory side first and wanted to pair a Greek rabbit stew with this traditional Greek wine. But that wasn't such a big hit with either me or Jake.

So, he tried it with a bit of Italian chocolate that I had just gotten from my friends at La Balena. That pairing was definitely a better fit in our minds.


Then I remembered that I had been saving some Lithuanian chocolate that was infused with juniper and orange. I thought that might be a nice match with the pine resin tones of the Retsina.


The evergreen notes in both were very complimentary! I'm not saying I would buy another bottle of Retsina in the near future. But nibbling the juniper chocolate was a nice way to sip through the rest of that wine.


I would love to hear from you if you have experience with Retsina...and what you like to pair with it. And I will be highlighting other wines from different regions with winemaking in their history stretching back to antiquity. Stay tuned.

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